1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for collecting goods.
2. Description of the Background Art
FIG. 11 illustrates a prior art method of collecting goods. This prior art method of collecting goods uses goods drop-out units, each of which can accommodate goods of one kind and dropout a given quantity of goods. A plurality of such goods drop-out units, which are prepared for respective different kinds of goods, are arranged along a goods collection path of a conveyor such that goods dropped out from the individual goods drop-out units are collected in goods receptacles provided in the conveyor. In the FIG. 11, designated at 1A, 1B . . . are goods drop-out units, at 2 is a conveyor, and at 2A, 2B . . . are goods receptacles.
In the above prior art, however, there are at least three major problems.
Since the conveyor 2 is fed continuously at all times, the goods drop-out units 1A, 1B, . . . have to stop the drop-out of goods at a precise timing, at which the borderline between adjacent goods receptacles of the conveyor 2 proceeds past their front. (In the example illustrated in FIG. 11, goods drop-out units 1D and 1H are at the goods drop-out stop timing.) Therefore, there is difficulty in goods drop-out timing control.
Since the conveyor 2 is fed continuously at all times, goods can be dropped out from the goods drop-out units 1A, 1B, . . . only during a period, during which the goods receptacles 2A, 2B, . . . of the conveyor 2 are proceeding past the front of the goods drop-out units 1A, 1B, . . . This means that there is a limit imposed on the maximum quantity of drop-out from the goods drop-out units 1A, 1B . . . .
The goods receptacles 2A, 2B, . . . of the conveyor 2 are hard and planar, have small goods reception capacity and are long such as to correspond to the spaces of a plurality of goods drop-out units. Therefore, if one or more goods receptacles are to be assigned to one container, a long conveyor length is necessary for one container. This means that with a fixed conveyor speed a long time is necessary for the collection of goods for one container.
It is an object of the invention is to facilitate the goods drop-out timing control when collecting goods, to permit increasing the drop-out quantity of goods from the goods drop-out units and to increase the goods collection speed.